Reunion With Music (Q&A)

Producing music has been my passion since I began arranging beats in 1996 but when I started PorterHouse Media music itself became more of a component than the main focal point. After a couple hundred mashups I started to feel like I was neglecting the core creative process that meant everything to me. Making tracks again is purely a therapeutic thing for me at the moment but after a long time away it’s exciting to feel inspired again.

What have you missed most about not making music?

I missed the infinite creative chain reaction I get from building a track from scratch. It’s that uninterrupted flow and natural high of creating music that I love the most.

Why did you stop producing music in the first place? Was it a gradual chain of events or like a specific moment of clarity you had?

There were a combination of things that led to my fallout with djing and producing. I actually started to lose my energy for production as my touring DJ career entered a non-stop phase around 2005. International touring exhausted me so much that I’d have no desire to make tracks when I got home. It was scary not to have that desire. I was more or less relegated to making bootlegs on planes and my original production really suffered during this time. In 2009 I was burning the candle at both ends, I was making a big push to renew my dj production career while also assisting the construction buildout of new music studios in Holyoke. I released the ‘Slap Chop Rap’ video and things were really going well, I had just been voted #2 in the America’s Best DJ poll, and DJ Mag notified me that I had made the top 100 again (back when the poll meant a bit more than it does now). Two days before the top 100 reveal DJ Mag notified me that I had been removed from the list due to a “high number of unconfirmed votes” (whatever this means) and it was at this point when something in my brain just snapped. It was the closest thing to a nervous breakdown I’ve had and it was nobody’s fault but mine. Just purely an accumulation of unrelenting work and travel for years on end. I took an immediate about-face and subsequently put all my energy towards video mashups. I think ‘devine intervention’ is the only way I can explain it as within a month of my meltdown I was producing TV commercials for the NBA. All in all, it’s incredibly ironic how many positives can come from a total burnout.

Are you going to get back into the Club life? DJing at clubs/events?

Definitely looking to start playing out more often but it’ll take time. I’m more or less starting over but I’m looking forward to whatever organic growth occurs.

Do you think it is going to be hard for you to work on producing music and producing music mashups?

I’ve had to exercise some next-level balancing to create equal time for music & mashups. It’s been extremely challenging and humbling, but I’m determined to to honor the past with the future. (just no more burnouts!)

What should people expect to hear from you? How will it differ from past DJSP music? Will your new tracks be a continuation of your older sound or are you going to go in another direction?

I think I’m just picking up where I left off. A little of this and a little of that. I’m gonna stick to what’s natural to me and just try to make tracks that move. I’ve dabbled privately with EDM vibes but it’s just not me.

How do you get inspired to make new music?

Inspiration comes from anywhere really. Ideas can come from listening to random radio in the car, or dissecting production techniques that you’d like to elaborate on. My ideas always come from a place of wanting to create something that hasn’t quite been made before.

Thoughts for any collabs?

I’d love to reunite back in the studio first with some of the peeps I made tracks with in the past. I think that’s a great place to start.

What are your thoughts on the current DJ’s out right now? Any favorites? What modern day producers or styles excite you?

Techno and house seem to be on the forefront again, but not sure they ever left either. Those genres are like pizza and will never go out of style. I’ve been listening to a lot of http://boilerroom.tv sets and really digging some of the hybrid live/dj sets on there. Not sure there’s one producer that I’m drawn to but it’s exciting to see that ‘groove’ is back in style.

How do you plan to stand out?

I have no idea beyond just being true to myself. I think it’s the only way.